Fluorescent lamp fixture



Cd. 17, 1944. SCHOCKETT I 2,360,448

FLUORES GEN T LAMP F I XTURE Filed June 7, 1943 S L 6 HARRY U "$55223;

2am M Patented Oct. 17, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLUORESCENTLAMP FIXTURE Harry U. Schockett, Denver, 0010.

Application June 7, 1943, Serial No. 490,114v

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in fluorescent lamp fixtures.

It is the principal object of this invention to produce a simple andsubstantial fixture that can be manufactured at a comparatively low costof material and labor.

Another object is to produce a lamp fixture especially well adapted foruse in industrial plants and which shall be of such construction that itcan be readily cleaned and in which the lamps can be quickly and easilyinserted and removed.

Another object of this invention is to produce a lamp fixture in whichthe entire outer surfaces of the lamps can be exposed for cleaning.

A still further object is to provide a lamp fixture of such constructionthat at least a portion of the light will be directed upwardly so as toilluminate the ceiling.

Another object is to produce a fixture in which the reflectors may berotated from the normal or operative position into an inoperativeposition so as to completely expose the lamps to facilitate cleaning.

A further object of the invention is to produce a lamp fixture in whichthe reflectors can be readily removed and replaced.

And a still further object is to produce a lamp socket of suchconstruction that it can be applied to the ends of a fixture body andremoved therefrom without the necessity or use of many screws andsecuring devices.

The above and other objects that may become apparent as this descriptionproceeds are attained by means of a construction and an arrangement ofparts that will noW be described in detail and for this purposereference will be had to the accompanying drawing in which the inventionhas been illustrated in its preferred form, and in which Figure 1 is aside elevation of a lamp constructed in accordance with this invention,portions being broken away so as to better disclose the construction;

tion as shown in Figure 3. With this form of body, a metal sheet is bentin V-shape so as to have two angularly inclined sides ll and the top isclosed by a cover I2 having downwardly and inwardly ranging sides l3that fit over the sides H. The two parts may be connected by means ofspotwelding.

It is to be understood that although the lamp illustrated has a tubularbody member ID of the construction shown and described, the exact crosssectional shape of this member is immaterial, as it can be replaced bymembers having any other suitable cross section, such as square,rectangular circular or U-shaped.

Secured to the body member I0 at a point substantially at the middlethereof is a ballast I 4. The wires from the ballast to the lamps passwithin the tubular member and have therefore not been shown. At each endof the ballast supporting loops l5 encircle the body and attached tothese are supporting chains, rods or other suitable members It, whoseupper ends are connected. to the housing H, which in turn is connectedto the ceiling 18 by means of suitable bolts l9. Since the lamp may beof various lengths, it has been shown in three parts in Figure 1.Extending transversely of the body are channel shaped brackets or hingemembers 20. These may be secured to the cover l2 by spotwelding or inany other suitable way. The flanges of the brackets 20 are provided nearthe ends with curved slots 2! for the reception of a U-shaped hingemember 22 that extends through the reflector 23 in the manner shown mostclearly in Figure 3. The purpose of this construction will be explainedhereinafter.

Secured to the ends of the body II] are two multiple sockets which havebeen designated in their entirety by reference numerals 24. In thepresent construction these sockets are eachformed from three separatemembers and the construction which has been illustrated in Figures 4, 5and 6 will now be described.

Each socket consists of a member of insulating material comprising aflat sheet-like portion 25 from one side of which a projection 26extends. The projection 26, in the present embodiment, consists of acentral web 2'! that connects with the flat top portion 28'. The edgesof parts 21 and 28 are bevelled and of such size that they can beinserted into the interior of the tubular body H] in the mannerindicated in Figure 5 where the tubular body has been shown in dottedlines. Secured to the angularly extending portions 29 of part 25 aresockets 30 of the type now commonly used in connection with fluorescentlamp fixtures and which are constructed in accordance with ReissuePatent No. 21,545. Since no novelty is claimed for the sockets, theywill not be described in detail.

The sockets are secured to the portions 29 by means of bolts or rivets3|. Although the multiple sockets shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6 are builtup of three separate parts, it is to be understood that they may bemolded in such a way that the portion 25 with its projection 26 forms anintegral part of th socket structure.

The lamps 32 are of the usual construction and can be readily insertedand removed by subjecting them to a rotary and lateral movement in themanner now common.

Attention is called to the fact that when the lamps are in position theyare separated on all sides from the fixture body and spaced so far awayfrom any adjacent fixture surface that they can be readily cleaned overtheir entire outer surface.

Attention will now be called to the reflectors 23 and to the manner inwhich they are attached to the fixture. It will be seen from the drawingthat each reflector comprises an opaque member of metal, or of any othersuitable material, that has a curvature substantially like that shown inFigure 2. The upper end of each reflector is substantially flat andcarries spaced hinge members 22 that can be inserted into the notch 2|so as to form a hinge like that shown in Figure 3. The upper or inneredge of the reflectors, which have been designated by reference numeral33 in Figure 3, engages the under surfaces of the brackets 23 and limitthe downward movement of the reflectors, holding them in .a positionsubstantially like that shown in Figure 2. When the lamps are to becleaned or when a lamp is to be replaced by another, the correspondingreflector is turned upwardly into the position shown by dotted lines inFigure 2. This exposes the entire outer surface of the correspondinglamp and the latter can therefore be quickly and thoroughly cleaned. Therelationship of the U-shaped hinge member 22 and the slot 2i is suchthat after the reflectors have been moved into the dotted line positionshown in Figure 2, they may be disconnected from the fixture and thisgreatly facilitates the assembly of the fixture and reduces the spacenecessary for shipping. Since the purpose of the U-shaped member 22 isto provide an opening for the reception of the end of member 20 anyother mechanically equivalent way of effecting this may be substituted.The multiple socket may be clamped in position by means of a screw 34 orheld from outward movement by any other suitable means. Each fixture isprovided with a ,starter 35 for each lamp and this is positioned in astarter socket 36. Since no novelty is claimed for the starter or thestarter sockets, these have merely been indicated in a diagrammaticmanner.

Referring now to Figure 3, attention is called to the fact that thereflector terminates a short distance from the adjacent side of the bodyI leaving an open space 37 through which light may pass upwardly and inthis manner that portion of the ceiling directly above the fixture willbe illuminated. The width of the opening 3! can be made as large or assmall as found desirable and may be omitted entirely where ceilingillumination is not desired.

Particular attention is called to the great simplicity of this fixtureembodying, as it does, a single tubular body member like that indicatedby reference numeral l0. As above explained, this body member has beenshown as of triangular cross section, but may be replaced by acorresponding element of any desired cross section. The supportingchains or bars l6 are secured to the body by the straps I5 which areslipped over the body into the position shown and which may be heldagainst longitudinal movement by some suitable means such as set screws.The multiple sockets are positioned in the body by the simple operationof inserting the projection 26 into the ends of the tubular body and ifdesired they can be clamped in position by means of the set screws 34 asabove explained. The reflectors 23 can be readily put into position andremoved and during shipment these can be packed separately and due totheir shape will nest so that they take up very little space.

The feature of this invention to which particular attention is called isthe ease with which the lamps and the reflectors may be cleaned and theease with which the lamps may be inserted and removed. By thisconstruction the maintenance cost is greatly reduced, as well as theoriginal cost of manufacture.

In the drawing and in the above description, the multiple lamp socketsare shown as provided with projection 26 that are to be inserted intothe ends of the tubular body. In some cases a reversal of this may bedesired and the projections may then be provided with openings intowhich the end of the tubular body can be inserted. This modification hasnot been shown because it involves merely an obvious reversal and inboth cases the multiple sockets are telescopically connected with thefixture body.

Having described the invention what is claimed as new is:

1. A fixture for use with fluorescent lamps, comprising, in combination,an elongated body,

a plurality of lamp sockets carried by each end thereof for positioninglamps in spaced parallel relation thereto, means for suspending thefixture comprising straps enclosing the body and slidable therealong,reflectors, means for attaching the reflectors to the body comprising,transversely extending hinge members secured to the body and projectinglaterally therefrom, the ends of said members having upwardly openinghooks, the reflectors having their upper surfaces provided with loopsfor the reception of the hooks, the hooks and loops forming means forpivotally attaching the reflectors to the ends of the hinge members.

2. A fluorescent lamp fixture comprising an elongated tubular body, amultiple lamp socket removably connected with each end thereof, eachsocket having one side provided with a projection positioned forinsertion into an end of the tubular body, and at least two sets of lampterminals, the body having at least two hinge members projecting fromeach side, a downwardly concave reflector pivotally connected with thehinge members for movement from an operative to an inoperative orcleaning position, and means for limiting the downward rotation of thereflectors.

HARRY U. SCHOCKE'IT.

